This food & beverage founder is bringing Colombian fruits and flavors to the forefront.
Dried fruit doesn’t have to be boring! That’s the belief of Salento Organics, an upstart brand bringing premium Colombian fruit snacks made with simple ingredients (only three!) to the forefront.
Founder Camilo Linares spoke with Foodboro about what led him to start Salento, the challenges of starting a CPG company, how he manages work/life balance while building a startup, and what’s next for the innovative snack brand.
I had a corporate job at an Advertising agency in Colombia - South America, planning on doing a MBA in the US, so studying for the GMAT exam and applying to some Universities, then COVID hit and everything changed.
What led you to entrepreneurship, and why now?
The perfect time to make the decision of starting my own company was at the beginning of the pandemic, I was without a job, my MBA dream was crushed and I wanted to do something meaningful with farmers in my country (Colombia). I thought that through entrepreneurship I could do my part and support undermined communities, and since I loved food I wanted to get involved in the food industry.
Retail relationships: do you sell mostly DTC? What retailers do you work with?
Actually we started the old way, DTC is kind of new to us right now and trying to develop that channel right now. We began selling at brick and mortar stores in Chicago and Detroit like Plum Market, Petes Fresh Market, Sunset Foods and a lot of independent stores. Once we developed a separate line Erewhon in California gave us a shot, which was a game changer, after we landed that account a lot of interest started getting onto us.
Who in the industry do you turn to for inspiration?
Anouck Gotib from Belgian Boys was the first founder who took interest in helping and advising us on the most basic but important things in CPG. I believe it is to admire how she managed to create a brand of breakfast and dessert products and turn it into a shelf stable CPG brand.
Any other brands in the industry that you admire?
A TON! Revival, Whiteleaf Provisions, Beckon IceCream are some that come into mind, which we have great relationships with and admire what they all have accomplished so far.
What sets you apart from other dried fruit and chocolate snack products?
I believe that Salento Organics differentiates itself from from other brands and products on the same category in three main things:
Flavors/Fruits: For example, we are the only brand in the entire US coating Dragonfruit Chunks in Dark Chocolate. Also Mango, Pineapple and Goldenberries covered in Dark Chocolate are not seen often in the candy sets at retail stores.
Amount of Ingredients: Both our Dried Fruit and Dark Chocolate Fruit Bites are made with the least amount of ingredients possible. In fact, the highest amount of ingredients we use in confections is a total of three ingredients, as for the Dried Fruit, is pure natural sun-dried fruit, no sugar or sulfites added.
Sourcing: We are able to get unique SKUs since we directly source everything from small local farms in Colombia. As of now we have more than 250 farms signed up with us, so we know exactly what came from where and at what time.
What have been the challenges of navigating the CPG industry? Especially sourcing outside of the United States?
The volumes, I believe that what sets an importer from a local producer a part is the volume. When you are a local producer you can have a profitable business selling to local stores, when you import it is all about volume, so you better find a bigger footprint out there if you want to succeed.
I travel a lot to Colombia to meet with the people I love and that gives me a certain peace of mind, which I believe is directly related with health.
As a founder, what do you do to take care of your health?
I love nature, I spend a lot of time outdoors, I travel a lot to Colombia to meet with the people I love and that gives me a certain peace of mind, which I believe is directly related with health.
What advice do you have for early-stage entrepreneurs?
Spend as much time as you can listening to other founders, do a very serious and thorough marketing research, have a very well structured financial plan, try to build the bases first in order to be able to take the multiple punches this industry throws at you daily.
What foods do you always have in your cupboards/fridge?!
A LOT OF FRUIT! From all different kinds, from bananas to blueberries, I really believe that nature has provided us with nutritious foods, so we need to take advantage of that.
What does the future of Salento look like? What are you currently working on? Any new products or retailers?
We want to compete with the big guys in the set, and for that we are refining what we have and of course working on new innovations. There will be new products launching soon, but I can’t speak so much about that yet. New retailers that are opening the doors for us, we are participating at the next Pop Up Grocer, launching in Canada at Longo’s, in SoCal at Ralphs and ShopRite in the Mid Atlantic after summer, more to come but I cannot disclose at this time.
Dried fruit doesn’t have to be boring! That’s the belief of Salento Organics, an upstart brand bringing premium Colombian fruit snacks made with simple ingredients (only three!) to the forefront.
Founder Camilo Linares spoke with Foodboro about what led him to start Salento, the challenges of starting a CPG company, how he manages work/life balance while building a startup, and what’s next for the innovative snack brand.
I had a corporate job at an Advertising agency in Colombia - South America, planning on doing a MBA in the US, so studying for the GMAT exam and applying to some Universities, then COVID hit and everything changed.
What led you to entrepreneurship, and why now?
The perfect time to make the decision of starting my own company was at the beginning of the pandemic, I was without a job, my MBA dream was crushed and I wanted to do something meaningful with farmers in my country (Colombia). I thought that through entrepreneurship I could do my part and support undermined communities, and since I loved food I wanted to get involved in the food industry.
Retail relationships: do you sell mostly DTC? What retailers do you work with?
Actually we started the old way, DTC is kind of new to us right now and trying to develop that channel right now. We began selling at brick and mortar stores in Chicago and Detroit like Plum Market, Petes Fresh Market, Sunset Foods and a lot of independent stores. Once we developed a separate line Erewhon in California gave us a shot, which was a game changer, after we landed that account a lot of interest started getting onto us.
Who in the industry do you turn to for inspiration?
Anouck Gotib from Belgian Boys was the first founder who took interest in helping and advising us on the most basic but important things in CPG. I believe it is to admire how she managed to create a brand of breakfast and dessert products and turn it into a shelf stable CPG brand.
Any other brands in the industry that you admire?
A TON! Revival, Whiteleaf Provisions, Beckon IceCream are some that come into mind, which we have great relationships with and admire what they all have accomplished so far.
What sets you apart from other dried fruit and chocolate snack products?
I believe that Salento Organics differentiates itself from from other brands and products on the same category in three main things:
Flavors/Fruits: For example, we are the only brand in the entire US coating Dragonfruit Chunks in Dark Chocolate. Also Mango, Pineapple and Goldenberries covered in Dark Chocolate are not seen often in the candy sets at retail stores.
Amount of Ingredients: Both our Dried Fruit and Dark Chocolate Fruit Bites are made with the least amount of ingredients possible. In fact, the highest amount of ingredients we use in confections is a total of three ingredients, as for the Dried Fruit, is pure natural sun-dried fruit, no sugar or sulfites added.
Sourcing: We are able to get unique SKUs since we directly source everything from small local farms in Colombia. As of now we have more than 250 farms signed up with us, so we know exactly what came from where and at what time.
What have been the challenges of navigating the CPG industry? Especially sourcing outside of the United States?
The volumes, I believe that what sets an importer from a local producer a part is the volume. When you are a local producer you can have a profitable business selling to local stores, when you import it is all about volume, so you better find a bigger footprint out there if you want to succeed.
I travel a lot to Colombia to meet with the people I love and that gives me a certain peace of mind, which I believe is directly related with health.
As a founder, what do you do to take care of your health?
I love nature, I spend a lot of time outdoors, I travel a lot to Colombia to meet with the people I love and that gives me a certain peace of mind, which I believe is directly related with health.
What advice do you have for early-stage entrepreneurs?
Spend as much time as you can listening to other founders, do a very serious and thorough marketing research, have a very well structured financial plan, try to build the bases first in order to be able to take the multiple punches this industry throws at you daily.
What foods do you always have in your cupboards/fridge?!
A LOT OF FRUIT! From all different kinds, from bananas to blueberries, I really believe that nature has provided us with nutritious foods, so we need to take advantage of that.
What does the future of Salento look like? What are you currently working on? Any new products or retailers?
We want to compete with the big guys in the set, and for that we are refining what we have and of course working on new innovations. There will be new products launching soon, but I can’t speak so much about that yet. New retailers that are opening the doors for us, we are participating at the next Pop Up Grocer, launching in Canada at Longo’s, in SoCal at Ralphs and ShopRite in the Mid Atlantic after summer, more to come but I cannot disclose at this time.
Dried fruit doesn’t have to be boring! That’s the belief of Salento Organics, an upstart brand bringing premium Colombian fruit snacks made with simple ingredients (only three!) to the forefront.
Founder Camilo Linares spoke with Foodboro about what led him to start Salento, the challenges of starting a CPG company, how he manages work/life balance while building a startup, and what’s next for the innovative snack brand.
I had a corporate job at an Advertising agency in Colombia - South America, planning on doing a MBA in the US, so studying for the GMAT exam and applying to some Universities, then COVID hit and everything changed.
What led you to entrepreneurship, and why now?
The perfect time to make the decision of starting my own company was at the beginning of the pandemic, I was without a job, my MBA dream was crushed and I wanted to do something meaningful with farmers in my country (Colombia). I thought that through entrepreneurship I could do my part and support undermined communities, and since I loved food I wanted to get involved in the food industry.
Retail relationships: do you sell mostly DTC? What retailers do you work with?
Actually we started the old way, DTC is kind of new to us right now and trying to develop that channel right now. We began selling at brick and mortar stores in Chicago and Detroit like Plum Market, Petes Fresh Market, Sunset Foods and a lot of independent stores. Once we developed a separate line Erewhon in California gave us a shot, which was a game changer, after we landed that account a lot of interest started getting onto us.
Who in the industry do you turn to for inspiration?
Anouck Gotib from Belgian Boys was the first founder who took interest in helping and advising us on the most basic but important things in CPG. I believe it is to admire how she managed to create a brand of breakfast and dessert products and turn it into a shelf stable CPG brand.
Any other brands in the industry that you admire?
A TON! Revival, Whiteleaf Provisions, Beckon IceCream are some that come into mind, which we have great relationships with and admire what they all have accomplished so far.
What sets you apart from other dried fruit and chocolate snack products?
I believe that Salento Organics differentiates itself from from other brands and products on the same category in three main things:
Flavors/Fruits: For example, we are the only brand in the entire US coating Dragonfruit Chunks in Dark Chocolate. Also Mango, Pineapple and Goldenberries covered in Dark Chocolate are not seen often in the candy sets at retail stores.
Amount of Ingredients: Both our Dried Fruit and Dark Chocolate Fruit Bites are made with the least amount of ingredients possible. In fact, the highest amount of ingredients we use in confections is a total of three ingredients, as for the Dried Fruit, is pure natural sun-dried fruit, no sugar or sulfites added.
Sourcing: We are able to get unique SKUs since we directly source everything from small local farms in Colombia. As of now we have more than 250 farms signed up with us, so we know exactly what came from where and at what time.
What have been the challenges of navigating the CPG industry? Especially sourcing outside of the United States?
The volumes, I believe that what sets an importer from a local producer a part is the volume. When you are a local producer you can have a profitable business selling to local stores, when you import it is all about volume, so you better find a bigger footprint out there if you want to succeed.
I travel a lot to Colombia to meet with the people I love and that gives me a certain peace of mind, which I believe is directly related with health.
As a founder, what do you do to take care of your health?
I love nature, I spend a lot of time outdoors, I travel a lot to Colombia to meet with the people I love and that gives me a certain peace of mind, which I believe is directly related with health.
What advice do you have for early-stage entrepreneurs?
Spend as much time as you can listening to other founders, do a very serious and thorough marketing research, have a very well structured financial plan, try to build the bases first in order to be able to take the multiple punches this industry throws at you daily.
What foods do you always have in your cupboards/fridge?!
A LOT OF FRUIT! From all different kinds, from bananas to blueberries, I really believe that nature has provided us with nutritious foods, so we need to take advantage of that.
What does the future of Salento look like? What are you currently working on? Any new products or retailers?
We want to compete with the big guys in the set, and for that we are refining what we have and of course working on new innovations. There will be new products launching soon, but I can’t speak so much about that yet. New retailers that are opening the doors for us, we are participating at the next Pop Up Grocer, launching in Canada at Longo’s, in SoCal at Ralphs and ShopRite in the Mid Atlantic after summer, more to come but I cannot disclose at this time.
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